As I’m writing this post, Hurricane Harvey just hit the Texas coast line last night….hard. A category 4 hurricane! Now it is tropical storm lingering over the state of Texas. Lots of rain and strong winds damaged buildings, streets and left thousands of people homeless. There were Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Charley in 2005 and 2004 and numerous other storms before that. It is all new to me! Are there any hurricanes and tornadoes in the Netherlans too?
I read devastating articles about people evacuating and get stuck in their cars on their way out of town to safer grounds. People who decide to stay, stock up on food and water, board the windows of their houses and write phrases on those boards like “Please be nice, Hurricane Harvey!” Premature babies are being transported to hospitals further north. All these people on that coast line live in constant fear! Is there really nothing out there that can save these people from these devastating natural disasters???
Why is it so hard to prevent this?
The Netherlands is a small country and has had some major flooding issues in the past. They do have strong winds through, but I never heard them say “orkanen” or hurricanes.
If you look at the map below, you’ll see that almost half of the Netherlands is below sea level. And still more than half of the population lives in this area.
So why isn’t everything under water?
It is not only the “Noordzee” on the west and north side of the Netherlands, but several big rivers like the “Maas”, “Waal” and “Rijn” cause flooding trouble at times. In 1953 the Netherlands and other countries like Belgium, England and Scotland had a huge flood, caused by a heavy storm tide, a combination of wind, high tide and low pressure. 1,836 deaths and widespread property damage was recorded.
Realizing that such infrequent events could recur, the Netherlands particularly, and the United Kingdom carried out major studies on strengthening of coastal defenses. The Netherlands developed the “Delta Works”, an extensive system of dams and storm surge barriers. The UK constructed storm surge barriers on the River Thames below London and on the River Hull where it meets the Humber estuary.
I remember reading articles in 2005 about Dutch scientists and engineers who are working at the “Delta Works” in the Netherlands, visited the US after Hurricane Katrina struck. Why is it so hard for the USA to build dunes, dikes and dams to prevent the loss of so many people and damage to so many houses? It seems like it is too expensive for the US to build these and there are political disagreements. The US decides to send help afterwards. I really don’t see the logic in this situation. There is some enforcement along bigger cities like Houston, New Orleans and New York, but the coast line in Texas is still not protected.
UPDATE 9/5/2017:
All around us, people are asking for money to help rebuild homes and infrastructure in Texas. Warning people for scams. And yes, I didn’t mention the rain that poured like crazy even days after the actual hurricane. Three times as much rain fell just in a few days, than in the Netherlands for a whole year. Hard to imagine, because it can rain A LOT over there! Because not all of the water came from the Gulf of Mexico, maybe more fell out of the sky, I can imagine that people were thinking:” Yeah, right, dams and dikes won’t hold THAT water. TRUE! But I also read that in and around Houston they have pumps installed, but half of them were not working!!! And you know what? Hurricane Irma is making its way through the Caribbean. They say, it’s a category 5 hurricane….
Tornadoes
Here in the Midwest, tornadoes are very common in the spring and summer time.
The Netherlands won’t have these huge tornadoes, that can wipe out a whole town. They do have them though…occasionally.
It is always scary to see dark sky, which turns more yellow-ish and quiet the closer it comes. Most houses have a basement or shelter underground, where people can hide. Sometimes people use rooms without windows in the middle of the building to hide. And they have blankets and an emergency kit on hand.
We’ve only had 3 or 4 times that the alarms in town went off. Also we get alerts on our cell phones. Then it is time to seek shelter!!!
Hello everyone,
Welcome to my Crafty Dutch Girl blog! Grab a cup of “koffie” and browse through fun blog posts about our Dutch family expat life in the USA, Dutch history, Dutch recipes, Dutch things to do in the USA and all kinds of crafts and activities. Don’t forget to connect with me for new ideas! “Groetjes en tot ziens”.